


Of Course I Hate the Royal Family

by happilysurviving (orphan_account)



Series: Phan One Shots [2]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: M/M, One Shot, Phanfiction, Prince!Phil, stable boy!dan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-22 23:58:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4855556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/happilysurviving
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan has been a stable boy for the royal family since he was thirteen and has developed quite the hatred for them because of it. Then the prince visits and he has to introduce the young man to his horses, does he end up hating the monarchy even more, or are his feelings changed?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Course I Hate the Royal Family

"You seriously want me to be the one to welcome the prince?"

"Yes, Daniel you're the most experienced with his horses so you have to." 

"Yeah I guess," I say, crossing my arms and raising my eyebrows. "But what if I murder him?" Chris rolls his eyes and gives me a dull stare.

"You aren't going to murder him."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because then the guards will murder you." I groan and uncross my arms so I can go over to the table to blue and green horse garb. "You know I'm right, Daniel."

"Stop calling me Daniel, Chris." I snap before angrily grabbing the first large saddle for Winston and some reins for Susan whom my work partner has already partially dressed.

"Fine," He grunts. "But you have to be kind to the prince, if you aren't you could get yourself put in the dungeon or something and I can't do this job on my own." He laughs and claps his hand on my shoulder. I shrug it off and turn around to face him.

"Why thank you for the kind words, Christopher. Those really make me not want to just go and fucking kill the prince." I say sarcastically before pushing past the shorter brunette toward Winston's stall where he's calmly chewing hay.

"Well I can't really say that I expect to single handedly change your feelings toward the royal family. But I just don't want you to end up stabbing your future right in the heart, okay? I care about you, so I swear to god if you end up being a total dick to the prince I will personally make sure you get run over by the next carriage that comes through here." He says, poking me in the chest with every word at the end.

"Well jokes on you because carriages never come through here." I say with a smirk but then hear the sound of wagon wheels rolling across the gravely path outside and past the stable. Chris then smirks and crosses his arms. "Except for that one."

"Yeah okay Dan, just please don't be an idiot." He says, slapping my shoulder once more and making his way to the back door to go home for the day, the lucky dick.

"Yeah yeah you have to sweep the house though." I tell him while entering the stall with Winston to get him for the prince's arrival in the an hour.

"Yeah I'll do it." He groans and then waves back at me as he walks out the door. "Have fun, Danny!" He blows me a kiss and I flip him off with a grin before grabbing a brush to make sure that Winston's fur is nice and glossy so that I won't have to deal with some stuck up royal shit sassing me about his precious horse being dirty.

I have never liked the royal family. I don't see why I should. I have been a peasant all my life, I have to work from dawn until dusk every day just to stay alive while they can just sit in their magnificent castle for days on end and live in extravagance for the rest of their lives. They control everything, if they don't like it they get rid of it or just change everything around so suddenly I don't have my mother but instead they do as their maid. They build new buildings all the time in their kingdom but never do anything for the peasants outside the walls of the area even though they still rule over us. I even get my pay directly from the bloody dicks and it's barely anything. I bet they would give me thousands if they knew just how difficult it was to train the horses that they own but never come down to see. This is the first time the prince will ever pay a visit to this area of the world and he's the same age as me: seventeen.

Seventeen years old. He has never seen the houses of the peasants and well I guess he just doesn't fucking care. I don't even know what any of the members of the family look like because no one outside the kingdom walls can afford to go in or buy a painting or even just a simple sketch of them.

At twelve I was already working to train these horses, these magnificent creatures that are obviously more mine than this dumb prince's. At twelve I had to move into a home with Chris and his mum behind the stables to stay alive. And at thirteen his mum was taken away and we were living alone, just two children, one thirteen and one fifteen training, two horses together for a singular prince who was fed off a silver platter everyday that was most likely worth more than both our lives put together.

So yes, of course I hate the royal family.

"Alright Winston, you ready?" I ask, not expecting an answer as he is a horse but still. I put the brush back in the box attached to the door and then pick the saddle up from on top of the wall, getting ready to secure it onto his back. I sigh as I see the blue and green colors of the kingdom seal mixing with the usual white color of all the other equipment we use on a regular basis to take care of the horses. Whenever there's an inspection or a member of the royal family comes down to see the horses we have to dress them in the royal colors and brush them with extra care. Chris decided that we should do so when we almost failed an inspection for the first time when I was twelve. We had had to send a letter that took a few weeks to be answered but we were eventually given the official equipment that is used for the horses in the cavalry. It was an honor to Chris but just aggravating for me, I couldn't believe that the officials could afford to have expensive equipment made and sent to us but couldn't actually send food our way when begged by the local groups of activists that I am a part of.

Once I have the brace and saddle on the tall black horse I pat him on the neck once and kiss his shoulder before leaving the stall to go finish with Susan, still having to put the brace on her head and a bow at the front of her saddle. I whistle a bird's song that I heard earlier this morning and grab a water bucket to give her once I'm in the stall. I push it open and lay her reins over the door for later, immediately dropping the bucket in front of her quite unceremoniously and starting to tie the blue bow to the front of her saddle. I continue to whistle and very quickly finish getting her white fur completely clean and ready for the prince's arrival.

I grumble while leaving the stall and seeing the seals I have to hang on both the tall stable doors. Heat rises to my cheeks while I glare at the meter tall signs. I just want to rip them up. I want to throw them into the lake a half kilometer away. I want to destroy them and all they stand for.

But I can't.

Because I have to hang them on the doors of the place where I spend my whole fucking life.

But hey, at least I can flip them off first. And I do.

"Eat shit Lesters! Eat my fucking shit!" I scream, making the horses behind me jump in fright. I then grab the seals and hang them on the door with the rustiest nails I can find, just begging the stupid prince to call me out on it.

~~~~~

It only takes ten more minutes for the sound of carriage wheels bumping down the rough road to the stables to fill my ears. I groan and look down at my clothes, knowing that I should at least be presentable for the prince. Even with my body slouched over I still look better than I normally do, I normally just wear a dirty vest and pants with a plain shirt but today I'm wearing the clothes that Chris made me get just for the times when the royal family comes down to visit: a white button up shirt, tough tan pants, dark brown suspenders, and tall brown riding boots. All the articles are secondhand but still the best possessions I have ever and most likely will ever have.

"Hey!" I hear the driver yell to get the horses to stop as I stand up, smoothing the wrinkles in my pants. I roll my eyes at the amateur way he controls his steeds and then walk to the tall main doors, opening them quickly so I can't expose my eyes to the sun and let them adjust quickly. I blink rapidly and then step all the way out of the building, closing the doors behind me gently, not wanting to bother the horses inside. Becky and Jessica tend to get a bit skittish with loud noises; I had to spend five minutes calming them down after my screaming earlier.

I look away from the doors once they're completely closed and locked and turn around to see a large wooden carriage painted completely white except for two royal seals on the sides of the rectangular carriage up toward the seat that the driver is now getting down from. The wheels are tall and pristine as well, somehow completely white even with all the dirty roads, most of them not even packed down well so when you walk on them little clouds of dust come up to your ankles. The chauffeur moves briskly to the side of the carriage that's facing me and straightens his long white jacket before reaching for the door handle.

I crack both sides of my neck and then cross my arms as I wait for him to open. As I wait to finally see what the royal shit looks like. I can only imagine some tanned blond kid, short and muscular jumping out of the carriage and immediately criticizing his driver on etiquette or his posture or something. I sigh and watch as the door finally opens, my sight of the inside of the vehicle being blocked by it.

It takes a moment or so for someone to finally exit the carriage and I can't say that the prince is anything like what I expected.

In fact my theories are debunked as soon as he opens his mouth.

"You know that you don't need to do that, Charlie. We're friends, I don't want you waiting on me."

"Yes I know but it's my job, sir." The man holding the door tells him with a sigh.

"Well are we around my parents right now?" The prince says, raising his eyebrows as I do the same. But of course he's facing his apparent friend who works for him and is now crossing his arms. "And don't call me sir or I'll start calling you Charles."

"Oh whatever, Phil." The shorter man exclaims, throwing his hands up in defeat and then rolling his eyes. "But you are making an atrocious first impression." I watch as the prince blushes and then turns to me. I cock an eyebrow and slowly look him up and down, sincerely impressed but not at all letting myself believe that.

He's wearing less decorum than I thought he would, simply a white military jacket with a singular medal on the left breast and dark blue shoulders, the same color as the buttons running down the middle. His pants are white too (not a very good idea to wear those to meet horses) with an embroidered royal seal on the upper right thigh. His riding boots are black and shinier than mine have ever been, I swear I can see my reflection in them. But even besides his clothing he doesn't look at all how I imagined. He's tall and quite slim, his skin as pale as paper. His hair boldly contrasts his skin tone as it's as black as the sky at midnight and pushed back past his forehead unlike mine that sweeps across it messily. His eyes are a very deep blue, almost the color of the crystal lakes that I pass by on my morning rides sometimes and his lips are plump and pink. The blush gracing his cheeks seems to be the only natural color on him.

"Hello there!" I suddenly hear him say while walking toward me, his posture somehow completely impeccable. "My name is Philip Lester, what's yours?" He reaches out and I reluctantly shake his hand. He just smiles and waits.

"Dan."

"Well nice to meet you, Dan." He says after a moment of silence in which I suspect he was expecting more from me. "You live here?"

"Only because I have to." I grumble, still looking him straight in the eyes as I lean back against the wall of the stables and recross my arms.

"Okay, one second please." He says before turning back around and waving to his chauffeur. "You can go now Charlie, please pick me up in three hours or so!"

"Will do, Phil," He yells before looking down at the watch on his arm. "I will be back at one o'clock sharp." He then waves before jumping up onto the carriage again and then riding off, back up the rocky road where he came from. I watch as he leaves but my thoughts of the magnificent horses pulling him are cut short as I hear Phil start to speak again.

"So how long have you lived here?" He asks me, seemingly completely innocently but I know not trust a single word he says, the royals always say things they don't mean, lying and deceiving peasants is their favorite pastime.

"I've lived here for four years now when I had to move in with Chris." I tell him, completely deadpan with a steady glare that he somehow seems completely unaffected by.

"I see, and what's your relationship with this Chris?"

"Friends with benefits," I blurt out, daring the prince with raised eyebrows to speak up. "The benefits being a house, food, a job."

"Oh I see." He says, breathing out loudly and with a smile.

"Oh and sex." I watch the smile disappear off his face and fight back a laugh. "What is it, sir? Do you not like gay sex? Or do you just not like the idea of peasants having pleasure in their lives?"

He doesn't say anything for a moment, just letting his eyes sweep across my face with a fascination that I can't say I expected.

"I like you." He suddenly declares. "I like you a lot."

"Yeah?" I say, shocked at his reaction. "Well I hate you."

"And why's that, Dan?" The prince asks, eyebrows furrowed and his question sounding sincere.

"Because your whole family is just a bunch of fucking assholes, that's why!" I yell before tensing my body, trying with all my might to collect myself as I see the prince's shocked face.

"What do you me-"

"The reason I fucking live here is because my mother was fucking taken away to be a maid and I had no one else. And now I have to train these horses all on my own and believe me I love it but I sure as hell don't love getting paid almost nothing and knowing that these majestic creatures aren't even mine!" I scream, my face flushed and fists clenched. "So yeah, send me to the fucking dungeon, Prince Philip! It would surely be fucking better than this!"

I then shit my eyes tightly and breathe deeply through my nose, in and out, in and out. I clench my eyes and bite the inside of my cheek to get my body to relax. After another minute I can finally open my eyes, my breathing still heavy and dramatic like a bull's but I least I can see the prince's face.

But he's not there. I suddenly snap out of my angry haze and look around, spinning around to find Phil until I spot him in the middle of the grazing field. And his jacket is on the ground. And so are his boots. And he's staring at me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yell before running over to the fence, leaping over it and joining him in the field. He smiles as I reach him.

"Just getting rid of all my royal stuff for a bit. Should I mess up my hair too?" I stare at him, not quite sure if he's being serious. "I think so." I watch as he ruffles his hair and makes it sweep across his forehead like mine.

"I do- I don't understand." I stutter, completely confused by what he's doing.

"Your problem with me is that I'm royal, does it help for me to look a bit more like you? I could unbutton the button on my shirt to look more like you, roll the sleeves up to the elbows." He starts to undo his neat collar and cuffs of his shirt.

"Yeah I don't like that you're royal but why do you care?"

"Because," He looks up after finishing rolling up his sleeves messily. "I want you to like me." He then smiles and spreads his arms out. "How's this?"

"I am never going to like you." I say sternly but instead of being frustrated he just pouts at me, making me huff and roll my eyes. "Now come on, you're here to meet our horses so let's fucking do it." I start in the direction of the stables before hearing Phil speak up again.

"Well where should I put all this stuff?" I turn back around with a groan to see Phil walking toward me with his jacket and boots in hand, only stockings covering his feet.

"Back on your body, there's no point in doing that."

"Yes there is!" He says, hugging the clothes to his chest childishly. "I am going to make you like me and not wearing these will help. So where should I put them?" He says determinedly. I shake my head before pointing to the stables.

"Just put it all in there, but you will need shoes to ride the horses so I'd put those back on."

"Well do you have any other boots?" He asks while running up next to me as we make our way to the stables.

"Only Chris'."

"Well can I borrow them?"

"Unfortunately I think he would be honored for you to do that so sure." I sigh, hop over the fence as we reach it, and then reach out my hand to help Phil who has obviously never done anything like this before. "Do you ever leave the castle?" I joke.

"Not really. My parents always tell me that it's better to stay in and 'not have to deal with all the people' and then when I tell them that I really would love to meet our subjects they just scoff and tell me to go back to my bedroom and write or talk to my maid."

I look over at him with furrowed eyebrows, he actually seems upset that his parents won't let him meet the people he rules over. "So you don't think you're superior and everything?" I ask while opening the doors to the stables.

"Not at all. I don't even understand why I am royal, I mean it was literally just some old man choosing a random family all that time ago. I hate it. I have no friends up there. I mean all I have are the maids and I don't think any of them genuinely like me, they just act like they do in order to not get fired. It sucks." Phil explains and I take his clothes from him, placing them on a low rafter that I climb on sometimes when I'm bored.

"Yeah that doesn't sound very nice." I say, finding myself sympathizing with him, something that I really need to stop myself from doing considering how he's actual fucking royalty, everything I hate. "But at least you get enough food, right?" I add bitterly.

"Damn," Phil exclaims before clicking his fingers. "I thought I had you."

"Nope, and you never will." I start toward Winston's stall and hear him giggle behind me but then a sharp intake of air as I open the door. "What was that?" I turn around and ask Phil who to my surprise now has eyes about the size of the moon.

"Sorry, I just don't like horses much." I stare at him in disbelief.

"Then why the fuck am I training them for you?" I groan, pulling at the hair at the top of my head.

"Because I have to have a horse to ride in my coming of age parade. Believe me, I don't want it either so don't blame me." He throws his hands up in the air before rolling his eyes.

"Well then I guess you're gonna be learning how to go near a horse today without freaking out instead of just how to ride it." I say irritably before going into the stall with Winston and patting him on the shoulder. "Hey buddy, how are you?"

"What?" Phil yells and I roll my eyes.

"I was talking to the horse, sir! Sorry you aren't always the center of attention!" I shout and hear him laugh.

"Oh no it's fine I just didn't realize you were crazy enough to talk to a horse!"

"Oh shut up!" I grab Winston's reins and start attaching them to his head brace. "Keep those doors open and go outside, I have to ride him out!"

"Okay!"

Once I have the reins on the horse I smile and take a deep breath before opening the door to the stall. I lead him out of the stall and into the open area and then place my foot in the stirrup and launch myself up and onto his back.

"Alright, let's go boy." I rub the side of his neck and then push my legs into his sides until he starts a slow walk. "Hey Phil make sure you're out of the way of when we run over to the fence!"

"Will do!" He yells and then I see him stood in front of the stables with a look of awe on his face. "Oh my gosh that's amazing!"

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet!" I laugh and then kick Winston's side. "Jump the fence, buddy!"

Winston starts galloping toward Phil, making him screech and run farther away from the stables. I then pull the reins to the left powerfully and the tall stallion turns toward the meter high wooden fence.

"Over!" I yell and then pull the reins up as we get to the barrier, making him jump over it smoothly and then continue galloping through the field. "Alright boy, let's slow down." I pull back on the reins slowly and he steadily gets slower until he's stopped and Phil is running toward us in the field.

"That was amazing, Dan!" He yells, a huge grin plastered across face. I dismount and then walk over to him, making sure he doesn't get too close to Winston as he tends to get a bit nervous around new people.

"Thanks but that was actually quite basic, Phil. And besides it's your turn now."

"W-what?" He stutters and I walk past him back to the stables.

"Yeah, you'll be riding Susan. You can't ride Winston for a little while, he's too energetic and will freak out if you come near him, he hasn't seen you before. The first time I got too close to him I was kicked down and had to stay in bed for a week."

"Oh my god," He mumbles before running up to me as I jump over the fence and walk through the entrance again. "How do you know that this other horse won't do that to me?"

"I don't," I tell him, turning around and smiling widely. "We'll just have to see."

"Oh come on." He groans.

"Yup, now come and meet Susan!" I practically skip over to the white horse's stall and open the door widely, stepping in and then clipping her reins onto her braces so I can restrain her in case she does attempt to charge at the prince. I can't actually have dead royalty on my hands. "You can come in the stall now, Phil!"

"I don't wanna!" He whines, sounding like a three year old protesting their bedtime.

"You have to if you want to ride in your own parade!"

"That's a year away!" He retorts.

"And you're just gonna use that excuse every time I try to get you to do this! Get in the fucking stall and pet your horse!" I yell and he yelps before peeking into the stall. I roll my eyes and usher for him to come in with my hand and he reluctantly makes his way in and I give him a wave. "Nice to see you finally."

"Shut up." He groans, staring at the large white horse head in front of him.

"Would it make you feel better if she was eating? Then she won't be paying any attention to you." I ask him.

"But then won't she try to eat my hand or something?" He asks, his voice shaking slightly.

"No she won't give a shit about you because she''l be aeting. She's generally a calm horse but I want to know if you want to make it so that she'll be as mellow as possible."

"Yes please." He says, his eyes still glued to Susan in front of him.

"Okay, I'll need to get past you then."

"Alright." He moves back against the wall and I walk in front of him and over to the large pile of hay in the right corner of the stall. I grab a large amount and walk up to Susan, stroking down her nose and then feeding her the hay.

"So what's so scary about horses anyway?" I ask him while holding my hand out and letting the white mare eat out of my hand.

"I don't trust their legs." He says, still having not moved since walking in the stall.

"You don't trust their legs? What does that even mean?"

"I'm afraid of them trampling or kicking me or something."

"Well Susan has never kicked anyone, she's a total sweetheart. You're going to be fine."

"Promise?" He looks over at me with big frightened eyes.

"I promise." I tell him with a reassuring smile, I mean I can't just let him think that he's gonna die or something. Then I turn back to Susan and give her her last clump of hay and step back, sweeping my hand toward her to tell Phil to pet her now. He squares his shoulders and corrects his posture before going up to Susan and holding his hand half a meter in front of her face. He takes deep breaths and closes his eyes. "Don't be scared."

"I'm not."

He takes one more breath in before slowly placing his hand on Susan's snout and stroking down it. He eventually opens his eyes more than the crack that they were already at and lets a small smile creep onto his face.

"See, it's not so bad!" I say while stepping up next to him and starting to pet the side of her head.

"Yeah," He breathes, his smile now showing in not only his mouth but also his eyes. "Yeah it's not." He turns to me and suddenly tackles me with a hug.

"Woah, shit, what are you doing?" I exclaim, trying to push him off me.

"Giving you a hug, are you against those too?" He says, his cheek resting on my left shoulder and his arms wrapped around my neck.

"Yeah with you I am!" I try to push him off of me but he just holds me tighter.

"I'm not letting you go until you hug back!"

"No, you're getting off right now!" I grunt and he nuzzles his nose into my neck, making me shiver.

"No way, you like it," He giggles, making me shiver even more. "You want to do it more!"

I stand there for a moment before sighing and wrapping my arms around his back. "Alright."

After a moment Phil pulls back and gives me a smug grin and I just glare back at him. I turn away from him though when I can feel a blush rising to my cheeks and grab Susan's reins.

"Time for you to ride the horse, Your Highness. Don't think that hugging a peasant is going to suddenly make you a good guy in all this."

Phil looks at me with a sad smile and then nods. "Okay."

I nod back at him and then start guiding Susan out of her stall and into the main area, mounting her like I did Winston.

"You do know that I didn't just do that because I want to get on the good side of your people, right?" I hear Phil ask delicately, looking down at the ground and then after a moment, back up at me.

"Sure you didn't, Your Highness." And with that I send Susan galloping off to the grazing area.

~~~~~

"Finally!" I exclaim as Phil finally manages to get himself up on the saddle on Susan's back. I don't think I could handle any more of pushing his literal ass up on that horse.

"Oh my gosh I did it!" He squeals with an ecstatic smile.

"Normally I wouldn't say this," I start before coughing, somehow out of breath from helping him mount the horse. "But I think that deserves a we did it." I bend over and place my hands on my knees, breathing deeply through my mouth.

"Yeah, true," Phil laughs. "We did it!" I look up to see him gripping Susan's sides with his legs and his arms up, fists pumping in victory. I laugh quietly and grin at him before straightening up and let my expression go back to neutral. I will not allow myself to start actually liking someone in the royal family.

"Now you have to get on your horse!" Phil yells down to me, his hands now down and holding the reins like I'd told him to.

"Oh I'm sorry I haven't gotten the chance to! You know why?" I yell up to him while mounting Winston.

"Why?" He laughs and looks over at me as I smoothly shift around the saddle and get myself comfortable before grabbing the reins.

"I think it has something to do with your heavy ass."

"There's nothing wrong with having a heavy ass, Daniel."

"There most certainly is when you have to haul it onto a horse."

"Even then it's not so bad."

"Oh, why do you say that, Philip? It's not like you were the one who had to push it up onto the animal."

"Yeah but you were the one who got to watch it."

I shake my head at him and roll my eyes. "Alright let's go, Your Highness, we need to go off on the trails for a bit. Now remember, squeeze her sides to tell her to go, but not too hard or she'll start going faster, galloping. And then to stop pull back on the reins steadily, be gentle. You shouldn't need to jump anywhere since I already opened the gates to get on the trails but in case we end up encountering some rocks that I haven't noticed before or something you pull up on the reins and tell her 'over'. Okay?"

"Yeah, I've got it," He says, nodding and I start Winston trotting. "But Dan, please call me Phil?" He raises his eyebrows at me hopefully.

"No thank you, Sir." I say in a painfully polite voice and hear him groan. "Now come on, we have to go out now. Get Susan trotting."

"Fine, Daniel." He then brings Susan up to a trot and comes up beside me, both of us going for the open gate at the other end of the grazing field. I have Winston quicken his pace and make it through the opening before Phil, and then stop the black horse to wait for the prince.

"Alright, forest or pond?" I ask him as he stops beside me.

"What?"

"We can go through the forest, or by the pond. Which would you like?"

"Pond." He blurts.

"Okay," I smile and direct Winston to the right, Phil soon following suit. "Why the pond though?"

"I've been cooped up in a castle for seventeen years, seldom being allowed to leave and even then I have to be accompanied by a guard. I don't want to be crowded by trees during the one time I can be outside with someone I've just met."

"I see."

Phil and I trot along on the dirt path leading away from the stables, willow trees lining the path, their long branches swaying gracefully in the wind. The sound of the horses' hooves slice through the calming silence as I look off to the left of the path, at the singular mountain close to the kingdom. I long to climb it one day with Winston but I don't know if it will ever happen.

"Do you know why I like you, Dan?" Phil suddenly says softly, breaking the almost meditative quiet.

"Why?"

"You didn't immediately worship me," Phil says, still looking straight ahead. "I can't have a normal conversation with anyone, let alone one where someone is criticizing me. It's quite refreshing to be honest." He laughs at that and then looks over at me with a small smile. "I hope I can come back and you'll still be a dick every time."

I laugh and shake my head at him with a smile. "Oh don't worry about that, I'll always be a terrible person."

"Good. Now where is this pond?"

"Maybe another half kilometer, not too far. We just go down here and then left at that big tree." I tell him, pointing at a large oak tree at the end of the path we're on. It has a large knot in it, almost the size of me if I were curled into a ball. Chris and I called it pregnant on our first ride together and it stuck so it's still "Mama Tree" in my heart to this day. "And then not too far down that path 'Crystal' comes into view."

"Crystal?" Phil cocks his head to the side in a way that I can't help but find oddly cute.

"It's what Chris and I call the pond, We name a lot of random things. We have a couple shovels out back that are actually in a forbidden relationship. It sucks for them but it's really entertaining for us to act out." I laugh and start to turn onto the other path. "I don't get out much, can you tell?"

"Well it's not like I do!" Phil exclaims, laughing along with me.

"True."

"Can we stop once we're at the pond? I want to just sit there and take it in. I don't know when the next time I'll be able to come down here will be."

"Yes of course, I know the perfect spot." I tell him but when I look in his direction I'm met with the sight of Phil's blue eyes staring right past me. "And I'm guessing you're seeing Crystal for the first time right now."

I turn my head away from him as he nods and over to my left to see the beautiful blue pond glistening next to us, trees circling it like a crown on top of Mother Nature's sea of hair. All the leaves of the trees are turning beautiful shades of orange and red and yellow, making the scene even more beautiful, especially with the light blue sky and puffy clouds as a backdrop.

"Okay it's not too far ahead, just until that small clearing in the trees and then we can stop."

"Sounds good." Phil says before having Susan quicken her pace. I then have Winston go faster to beat them to the spot, wanting to make sure I can help Phil off of his horse and also show him where to tie Susan's reins.

Once I reach the opening I look over at the small dip in the ground, the bench that Chris and I brought out here, and the shallow but rocky area where the water meets the rich earth. I smile and dismount, stroking Winston's side and then tying his reins to a strong branch on a tree lining the path. No one else ever goes in this area, so we never have to worry about someone hitting our horses with carriages, Chris and I always just make sure that they're somewhere they can eat grass and small plants.

"Okay, just ride her over here and then I'll help you get off." I tell Phil and he comes over to me, right beside where Winston is now standing, his tail swinging everywhere. "Alright, so just take your right leg and bring it over to your left side and I'll help you jump down off the stirrup."

"Okay." He says nervously before following my directions and then taking my hand, his feeling much softer than mine are, practically like clouds even touching my calloused skin. He then hops down with a grunt and I tie Susan's reins to the tree in front of her.

"Well would you like to see Crystal?" I ask him, offering my arm which he takes, resting his hand gently on my forearm. I smile slightly and then walk over to the clearing. I hear Phil gasp beside me as I stop in the entrance.

"It's beautiful!" I look over to see he's covered his mouth with his hand and then go back to looking out across the magnificent pond. "It's so beautiful!"

"Would you like to sit down?" I ask, motioning toward the bench with my hand and he nods. I walk over and plop down on it while he sits down neatly. "Do you always have to be so neat?"

"Oh absolutely not! Can I be sloppy right now?" He asks with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Of course you can."

"Oh this day is just getting better and better!" He squeals before slouching against the bench and looking over at me with clear gratitude. "Man I miss being able to just relax. I never can now that I'm so close to my coming of age!"

"Well I'm glad you can now, then." I tell him before closing my eyes and shutting out the world. 

Whenever I come down to this pond I spend time just listening. I listen to the sounds of the water hitting the ground beside me. The breathing of the horses. The distant bird calls from the trees across the water. It helps me get away from my life, away from the reality of always being starving and knowing that any day now Chris or I could be drafted into the cavalry. I love those times. But this time I have to say that the interruption that occurs isn't too bad.

As when I open my eyes I see Phil curled up next to me with his head resting on my shoulder. I breath deeply and try not to move it in case he'd want to get up but am then comforted by his voice.

"You've warmed up to me, Daniel." He whispers into my neck.

"It seems like I have, Philip."

I feel Phil lift his head off my shoulder and turn to him, hoping that I didn't bother him with my agreement.

"You actually like me now." He looks into my eyes deeply, as if he's looking for every detail he can find in my personality through them. I stare into his the same way, wanting to know every secret in his brain, wanting to know everything about this mysterious prince.

"I must." I smile at him and he leaps up, reaching for my hand.

"Well I do believe that it's time for me to go." I place my hand in his and furrow my eyebrows.

"It's already past noon?" I ask, having completely lost track of time. Phil looks down at his watch.

"It is. We should ride back."

"Yes," I say, quite disappointed that I can't spend more time with the prince. "We should." I look down at our feet.

"Oh but one thing first, Dan." Phil says and I look back up.

"Wha-"

I am then interrupted by the prince's hands on my cheeks. His eyes locked on mine. And then his lips pressed against my own.

And that was the moment I decided I truly hated the monarchy.

It had held him back from me all these years.

How could I not?


End file.
